MLB 2023 Season

[thehef]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

Maybe but the dodgers have had limited success with big contracts. They should have more than one title with their payroll.

In addition to being a short move (Anaheim to Chavez Ravine) and the Dodgers near-post-season guarantee, is the Dodgers track record with "handling" players, getting the most out of them. This should appeal to the unicorn-type player that Ohtani is.

As for big contracts: Their two current big contract guys - Mookie & Freddy - are in the MVP conversation. The sort-of-3rd biggest contract, Kershaw (who keeps signing 1-year deals for below what he could get on the open market) is HOF-bound and still pitching like it. So I'd say they're having great success with their big contracts

Or maybe you mean that - despite their overall annually large payroll - they've only won one WS in their current run of 10 straight postseasons that includes 9 division wins, three WS appearances, and an avg win total of 100 games. In that ten-year run, only three teams - da BoSox, Frisco, and the BlackStros - in all of baseball have won more WS. And one of those is not only tainted but basically kept LA from tying Bos & SF for the most WS wins in that span (absolutely true that the Yankees have just as much claim to the 2017 title as the Dodgers do).

At any rate, there's not going to be any question of the Dodgers and a number of other teams willing to pay Ohtani, so if we move past that, LA will have these things going for it:

1. Winning (includes one the best farm systems in baseball and a willingness to acquire players)
2. Taking good care of players
3. Excellent clubhouse (I'm talking "group of guys" led by a player's manager; not the team's facilities, which are also top-notch)
4. Great location (weather, entertainment & activities, a large Japanese population, and not far from where he currently is)

So unless some other team has the more-appealing geographic location, and that's a big deal to him, LA would seem to be the likeliest place for him.

[Le Grande Orange]

MLB announced its 2023 post-season schedule today.

This year's post-season will be the longest scheduled in MLB history at 34 days. The previous longest was 32 days for the 2007–2010 and 2013 seasons.

[Westheim]

If only they added a few more rounds, they could stretch this out until Christmas...

[Westheim]

Julio Rodriguez has all the cheat codes

Milt Stock's 98-year-old record of 16 hits in four consecutive games? Pulverized!

Eh, I'll be impressed when he knocks six in a game.

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by thehef

In addition to being a short move (Anaheim to Chavez Ravine) and the Dodgers near-post-season guarantee, is the Dodgers track record with "handling" players, getting the most out of them. This should appeal to the unicorn-type player that Ohtani is.

As for big contracts: Their two current big contract guys - Mookie & Freddy - are in the MVP conversation. The sort-of-3rd biggest contract, Kershaw (who keeps signing 1-year deals for below what he could get on the open market) is HOF-bound and still pitching like it. So I'd say they're having great success with their big contracts

Or maybe you mean that - despite their overall annually large payroll - they've only won one WS in their current run of 10 straight postseasons that includes 9 division wins, three WS appearances, and an avg win total of 100 games. In that ten-year run, only three teams - da BoSox, Frisco, and the BlackStros - in all of baseball have won more WS. And one of those is not only tainted but basically kept LA from tying Bos & SF for the most WS wins in that span (absolutely true that the Yankees have just as much claim to the 2017 title as the Dodgers do).

At any rate, there's not going to be any question of the Dodgers and a number of other teams willing to pay Ohtani, so if we move past that, LA will have these things going for it:

1. Winning (includes one the best farm systems in baseball and a willingness to acquire players)
2. Taking good care of players
3. Excellent clubhouse (I'm talking "group of guys" led by a player's manager; not the team's facilities, which are also top-notch)
4. Great location (weather, entertainment & activities, a large Japanese population, and not far from where he currently is)

So unless some other team has the more-appealing geographic location, and that's a big deal to him, LA would seem to be the likeliest place for him.

All good points, but I think Seattle could be a dark horse. No one was predicting the Padres to sign all the players they did. Also, Ichiro played in Seattle and he is the most popular Japanese player of all time. Seattle also has a very large Japanese population(probably a higher percentage that LA, edit: 1.8% for Seattle vs. 0.9% for LA), and apparently Ohtani likes Seattle and spends vacation time there. The only question is that apparently Seattle management may be against large free agent contracts in general but maybe they make an exception for Ohtani(considering he is a sport transcending personality).Also, the "Come to Seattle" chants at the all star game may have endeared him to Seattle fans.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Westheim

If only they added a few more rounds, they could stretch this out until Christmas...

Here is how the MLB post-season schedules have looked since 1995:

      [...1995..]   [1996-2006]   [2007-2009]   [...2010..]         [...2011..]   [...2012..]         [...2013..]   [2014-2019]   [...2020..]   [...2021..]         [...2022..]         [...2023..]    
Mon    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -   Thu    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -   Mon    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -   Thu    -  -  -  -   Mon    -  -  -  -
Tue   DS DS DS DS   DS  - DS DS    -  -  -  -    -  -  -  -   Fri   DS DS  -  -   WC  - WC  -   Tue    -  - WC  -    -  - WC  -   WC WC  -  -    -  - WC  -   Fri   WC WC WC WC   Tue   WC WC WC WC
Wed   DS DS DS DS    - DS DS DS   DS  - DS DS   DS  - DS DS   Sat   DS DS DS DS    - DS  - DS   Wed   WC  -  -  -   WC  -  -  -   WC WC WC WC   WC  -  -  -   Sat   WC WC WC WC   Wed   WC WC WC WC
Thu    -  -  -  -   DS DS  -  -    - DS DS DS    - DS DS DS   Sun    -  - DS DS   DS DS DS DS   Thu    -  - DS DS    -  - DS DS   WC WC WC WC    -  - DS DS   Sun   WC WC WC WC   Thu   WC WC WC WC
Fri   DS DS DS DS    -  - DS DS   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   Mon   DS DS  -  -   DS  - DS  -   Fri   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS    -  - WC WC   DS DS DS DS   Mon    -  -  -  -   Fri    -  -  -  -
Sat   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS    -  - DS DS    -  - DS DS   Tue   DS DS DS DS    - DS  - DS   Sat   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -    -  -  -  -   DS DS  -  -   Tue   DS DS DS DS   Sat   DS DS DS DS
Sun   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS   Wed    -  - DS DS   DS DS DS DS   Sun    -  - DS DS    -  - DS DS    -  -  -  -    -  - DS DS   Wed    -  - DS DS   Sun    -  - DS DS
Mon    -  -  -  -   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   Thu   DS DS  -  -   DS DS DS DS   Mon   DS DS DS DS   DS DS DS DS   DS DS  -  -   DS DS DS DS   Thu   DS DS -   -   Mon   DS DS -   -
Tue    LCS   LCS     -  -  LCS     -  - DS DS    -  - DS DS   Fri    -  - DS DS   DS -  DS  -   Tue   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   DS DS DS DS   DS DS  -  -   Fri    -  - DS DS   Tue    -  - DS DS
Wed    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   Sat    LCS   -  -    LCS   -  -   Wed    -  - DS DS    -  - DS DS   DS DS DS DS    -  - DS DS   Sat   DS DS DS DS   Wed   DS DS DS DS
Thu     -     -      LCS    -      -  -  LCS     -  -  -  -   Sun    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Thu   DS DS  -  -   DS DS  -  -   DS DS DS DS   DS DS  -  -   Sun   DS DS DS DS   Thu   DS DS  -  -
Fri    LCS   LCS      -    LCS     LCS   LCS     -  -  LCS    Mon     -    LCS      -    LCS    Fri    -  -  LCS     -  -  LCS    DS DS DS DS    -  -  LCS    Mon   DS DS  -  -   Fri    -  - DS DS
Sat    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS    -      LCS   LCS    Tue    LCS    -      LCS    -     Sat    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     -  - DS DS    LCS   LCS    Tue    -  -  LCS    Sat   DS DS  -  -
Sun    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS      -    LCS     LCS    -     Wed    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Sun    LCS    -      LCS    -      LCS   -  -    LCS    -     Wed    LCS   LCS    Sun          LCS
Mon     -     -      LCS    -      LCS   LCS      -    LCS    Thu    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Mon     -    LCS      -    LCS     LCS   LCS      -    LCS    Thu    LCS    -     Mon    LCS   LCS
Tue    LCS   LCS      -    LCS     LCS    -      LCS   LCS    Fri     -    LCS      -    LCS    Tue    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Fri     -    LCS    Tue    LCS    -
Wed    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS      -    LCS     LCS   LCS    Sat    LCS    -      LCS    -     Wed    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Sat    LCS   LCS    Wed     -    LCS
Thu     -     -      LCS    -      LCS    -      LCS    -     Sun    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Thu    LCS    -      LCS    -      LCS   LCS     LCS    -     Sun    LCS   LCS    Thu    LCS   LCS
Fri     -     -       -     -       -    LCS      -    LCS    Mon     -    LCS      -    LCS    Fri     -    LCS      -    LCS     LCS   LCS      -    LCS    Mon    LCS   LCS    Fri    LCS   LCS
Sat        WS            WS        LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Tue     -     -       -     -     Sat    LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS     LCS   LCS    Tue    LCS   LCS    Sat    LCS    -
Sun        WS            WS        LCS    -      LCS    -     Wed        WS            WS       Sun    LCS    -      LCS    -       -    LCS     LCS    -     Wed    LCS    -     Sun     -    LCS
Mon         -             -         -     -       -     -     Thu        WS            WS       Mon     -     -       -     -       -     -       -     -     Thu     -     -     Mon    LCS   LCS
Tue        WS            WS         -     -       -     -     Fri         -             -       Tue     -     -          WS            WS            WS       Fri        WS       Tue    LCS    -
Wed        WS            WS            WS            WS       Sat        WS            WS       Wed        WS            WS            WS            WS       Sat        WS       Wed     -     -
Thu        WS            WS            WS            WS       Sun        WS            WS       Thu        WS             -             -             -       Sun         -       Thu     -     -
Fri         -             -             -             -       Mon        WS            WS       Fri         -            WS            WS            WS       Mon        WS       Fri       WS
Sat        WS            WS            WS            WS       Tue         -             -       Sat        WS            WS            WS            WS       Tue        WS       Sat       WS
Sun        WS            WS            WS            WS       Wed        WS            WS       Sun        WS            WS            WS            WS       Wed        WS       Sun        -
Mon         -             -            WS            WS       Thu        WS            WS       Mon        WS             -             -             -       Thu         -       Mon       WS
Tue         -             -             -             -       Fri         -             -       Tue         -            WS            Ws            WS       Fri        WS       Tue       WS
Wed         -             -            WS            WS       Sat         -             -       Wed        WS            WS            WS            WS       Sat        WS       Wed       WS
Thu         -             -            WS            WS       Sun         -             -       Thu        WS             -             -             -       Sun         -       Thu        -
Fri         -             -             -             -       Mon         -             -       Fri         -             -             -             -       Mon         -       Fri       WS
Sat         -             -             -             -       Tue         -             -       Sat         -             -             -             -       Tue         -       Sat       WS

[low]

Originally Posted by low

The Brewers can't beat good teams.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Nevermind. They can. Who knew?

[Cobra Mgr]

What in the name of Nostrodamas is going on here?

I rebuke thee! REBUKE!

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

What in the name of Nostrodamas is going on here?

I rebuke thee! REBUKE!

Same clip, linked twice.

(And are we really shocked that a homer such as Kruk "called" the team's slugger going deep against a struggling pitcher on a struggling team? Call Al Weis going deep in 1969 or Big Sexy making James Shields immortal, then I'll be impressed.)

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Same clip, linked twice.

(And are we really shocked that a homer such as Kruk "called" the team's slugger going deep against a struggling pitcher on a struggling team? Call Al Weis going deep in 1969 or Big Sexy making James Shields immortal, then I'll be impressed.)

We don't need to link Big Sexy's homer off James Shields. You all know where to find it.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

What in the name of Nostrodamas is going on here?

I rebuke thee! REBUKE!

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Same clip, linked twice.

Yes, I am wondering what the second link could have been to, if anything.

A rite of exorcism? "Out, vile devil. Out!"

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Same clip, linked twice.

(And are we really shocked that a homer such as Kruk "called" the team's slugger going deep against a struggling pitcher on a struggling team? Call Al Weis going deep in 1969 or Big Sexy making James Shields immortal, then I'll be impressed.)

How about how many times he's made the call and nothing happened? Are there youtube videos of that too?

[thehef]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

All good points, but I think Seattle could be a dark horse. No one was predicting the Padres to sign all the players they did. Also, Ichiro played in Seattle and he is the most popular Japanese player of all time. Seattle also has a very large Japanese population(probably a higher percentage that LA, edit: 1.8% for Seattle vs. 0.9% for LA), and apparently Ohtani likes Seattle and spends vacation time there. The only question is that apparently Seattle management may be against large free agent contracts in general but maybe they make an exception for Ohtani(considering he is a sport transcending personality).Also, the "Come to Seattle" chants at the all star game may have endeared him to Seattle fans.

I read somewhere that it basically comes down to three things: Money (does a team have enough and/or the willingness to spend it?), winning (he wants to play in October), and geography (he wants to be on the west coast, closer to Japan and where the Japanese communities are most-prevalent). And that all three are important factors to him. So we can - for our purposes of here of determining favorites - eliminate most of the MLB that isn't on the west coast. Surely some east coast team (Phillies? Yankees?) could swoop in with a comprehensive package that simply overwhelms him... At any rate, based upon those factors, the rankings would probably come in something like this:

1. Dodgers, overwhelming favorite: They clearly have the money to spend to both sign Ohtani and ensure a strong overall roster; given that, their recent history, and a strong farm system, and they are a near-lock for post-season play every year. They absolutely check the geography/vibrant Japanese community box. In addition, they have a history of success with Japanese pitchers (think Nomo, Maeda, Saito - all of whom were not only successful in LA but were also fan-favorites).

2. Giants, reasonable alternative: They could muster the cash, but would they then have enough to spend on the rest of the roster in order to be a near-lock for the post-season, every year? And despite the Giants' titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014, even including those years (since 2010) they've missed the playoffs more than they've made them; i.e., they are not the post-season lock that the Dodgers are...

3. Padres, can't be dismissed: They've shown a willingness to spend, and have some serious star-power; they check the geo-box as well as any other team. But there are serious questions of spending-wisely, and while they made the playoffs last year and notably upset the Dodgers, despite the star-power they are merely on the fringe of playoff discussion this year and might be a season away from a complete overhaul/rebuild.

4. Angels, longshot: I suppose his current team can't be dismissed. The only way that works, IMO, is if Ohtani sits back and watches the Angels make some serious moves that transform the club into a contender. Gotta figure that's unlikely, as that would require the team somehow acquiring multiple all-stars or near-all-stars.

5. Mariners, darkhorse: For the reasons mentioned by monkeyman576... I suppose the Mariners could spend the dough, but like the Giants, would they be willing & able to spend even more for a playoff-quality roster?

6. Rangers, non-west-coast darkhorse: They're willing to spend, have some good players, and look to be headed to this year's playoffs. They don't have the winning tradition of the Dodgers or even the Giants, but if you want to peg a darkhorse that isn't on the west coast, this would be the team...

Another factor that could sway towards Texas and away from the teams that would seem to be favorites: California is the brutal - not just among the states considered here - on income taxes; Texas is the best... Washington, surprisingly, ranks right there with Texas, so that's another factor that might favor Seattle... For those keeping score and wondering about the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies: New York is the worst, and Massachusetts isn't far behind, barely better than Calif; Pennsylvania is not great...

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Same clip, linked twice.

(And are we really shocked that a homer such as Kruk "called" the team's slugger going deep against a struggling pitcher on a struggling team? Call Al Weis going deep in 1969 or Big Sexy making James Shields immortal, then I'll be impressed.)

MY bad guys.

Humor was lost after my goof.:

[Cobra Mgr]

Surprised there was such little chatter about that titanic matchup between the Royals & A's this week.

[Cobra Mgr]

Yanks ended their losing streak w/3HR's by Judge vs the Nats.

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU CHALLENGE JUDGE 3X's W/THE YANKS LINEUP LIKE IT IS??????

[monkeyman576]

I wonder how much Ohtani's injury effects his free agent value.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Yanks ended their losing streak w/3HR's by Judge vs the Nats.

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU CHALLENGE JUDGE 3X's W/THE YANKS LINEUP LIKE IT IS??????

Ah, never mind that! So the Yanks avoided their first 10-game skid since the days of Hal Chase, who cares?

Dom Smith homered for the Nats! Dom, who hit the walkoff that ended the Last Mets Game Ever! Always a great moment! Love ya, Dom.

(Hey, at least we went out on a high note.)

Okay, Judge's first dinger was as the 2nd batter of the game, and then in the 2nd inning the bases were loaded, so Gore didn't want to walk in a run. The third one came after Jose Ferrer (fresh from starring in Cyrano de Bergerac) had just given up a bomb to DJ LaMahieu and he was trying to work 99 outside, but being enormous, Judge popped it opposite field over the short porch near the RF pole. Those things happen.

That said, this hurts the chances for a Cellar Series in two ways: it helps the Mets keep ahead of DC (despite losing to Atlanta) and it moves NYY one step closer to 4th place. Oh, well.

[Cobra Mgr]

Except for when the bases were loaded I would pitch around Judge everytime. No one else in that lineup scares me.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Yanks ended their losing streak w/3HR's by Judge vs the Nats.

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU CHALLENGE JUDGE 3X's W/THE YANKS LINEUP LIKE IT IS??????

I have asked myself that. Judge should be setting a record for IBB even with Stanton batting behind him. Maybe especially.

The reason why they pitch to Judge? The only thing I can come up with is macho pride.